Following a half-hour informational picketing session Sept. 30 outside the River Forest School District 90 administration building, the River Forest Education Association and the district were unable to strike a new contract agreement in what was to have been their final mediation session.
According to RFEA co-presidents Lauren Baiocchi and Cindy Crannell in prepared statements to Wednesday Journal, there will be another mediation session Oct. 29. The delay is due in equal part to the recent federal government shutdown and the scheduling availability of all parties.
Baiocchi and Crannell noted that teachers are “losing patience and growing increasingly frustrated as they continue to work without a contract.” Teachers have been working without a contract since August.
According to a District 90 statement, it “has participated in 15 negotiation and mediation sessions and offered numerous substantive and responsive proposals and counterproposals with potential solutions to address the economic and non-economic requests made by the RFEA.
“District 90’s financial health is stable with sufficient funds to meet planned expenditures. However, the district is currently engaged in deficit spending and expenditures are growing faster than revenues. Additional increases to compensation will accelerate the rate of deficit spending.”
That’s the sticking point, Baiocchi and Crannell said – compensation.
“While administrative salaries in District 90 have kept pace with comparable school districts, teachers’ salaries in River Forest have fallen behind,” they said. “This needs to be remedied.
“We have repeatedly shown that District 90 salaries remain well below those of comparable districts. The village of River Forest takes great pride in providing the highest quality education, and through the hard work and commitment of our staff, all three District 90 schools are rated ‘Exemplary’ by the State of Illinois – placing River Forest Schools in the top 10% state.”
Further, without a new contract, they said, the district runs the risk of losing talented teachers to higher-paying districts. That could lead to increased teacher turnover and resultant instability.
A strike does not appear to be out of the question, though Baiocchi and Crannell said that remains “the last resort in our efforts to reach a fair contract.
“Our teachers would much rather be in their classrooms with their students than on a picket line. We remain focused on reaching an agreement, but we are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure the best possible contract for our teachers and our students.”
Baiocchi and Crannell said the community support has been strong.
“We continue to see tremendous support from the residents of River Forest, who recognize the vital role our teachers play in this community,” they said. “From attending school board meetings to displaying yard signs and even creating resident t-shirts, our community has stood beside us in our effort to secure a fair contract.”
To that end, the next District 90 school board meeting was scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Roosevelt Middle School auditorium. At 6:15 p.m., RFEA and community members were planning to walk from district offices at 7776 Lake St. to Roosevelt Middle School.
As for District 90, it said that it continues to bargain in good faith.
“District 90 continues to work to come to an agreement that will compensate and support teachers well while stewarding taxpayer resources responsibly,” the statement noted.